Washing machine cleaners

[flembot]

I know from this article that this website recommends Affresh / Wpro cleaner tablets for maintenance cleaning of the washing machines.
What I’d like to know is what do you guys think of the likes of Dr Beckman Deep Cleaner? From looking at the ingredients of both it looks like they are both quite similar.

I’m also keen to know what everyone thinks of other cleaners such as the Dettol Washing machine cleaner and others.

[bammec]

I perform separate cycles for each of the below as and when I feel the need:

• 500g of soda crystals for a general deep clean and to help remove sludge and slime
• 300g of citric acid to descale
• A squirt of bleach to kill any mould and a clean

Each of the above should be ran on the hottest cottons cycle. After using the bleach, I like to do another rinse cycle to be sure all the bleach is gone.

I’m not sure if you can mix the above three together, but I don’t see why not. I’m sure somebody will be along soon to advise against what I’ve just said though! 😀

[andyjawa]

Based on my rather admittedly shakey chemistry:

1) in theory and probably in practice 500grams of soda crystals is too much. True, that you can use soda crystals in a washing machine but it is also true, if you read the packet`s dos and don`ts, it will say do not use on aluminium products. The spider assembly is an aluminium alloy so that could well be damaged by etching at 500g levels given the low water concentrations of modern machines.

2)Citric acid at 3{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} to 5{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} is not harmful as far as is known if mixed alone with water.This will descale your machine of limescale but do not expect it to as a one hit wonder and do not expect it to clear stinking sludge as it is not a detergent

3) Mixing citric acid and bleach. Depending upon the concentrations (? unknown to me ) DO NOT DO THIS as you can release chlorine gas which can cause problems with asthmatics and folk with a touch of the old heart disease so that is not a plus.

The way I descale my 19 year old Hotpoint is to use 1x box 250g of Aquasoftna crystals ( about 5 quid a box retail, if you bought a crate of 25 boxes the trade wholesale price is about £1.20 + vat per 250g box ) with 3 CAPS fulls of liquid lemon Flash at 60 degrees every 6 weeks. My machine is still on the original door seal, the original spider and bearings and spider, and does not pong inside. I have never used soda crystals.

[andyjawa]

Dettol cleaner. I have never used this but I do know of someone who does and often.
The machine does not pong since they use low temperature washing and did, so they told me, had a past pongy machine. However, like myself, they live in a fairly hard water area and did have a fairly limed-up filter. It would seem they had cured one problem but had not cured the other.

Dr Beckman ( also called Dr Kilmore – think about it! ). As far as I know this is a similar but more expensive method but weaker version of what I do, see previous post bottom paragraph.

[grantdylan]

From my own experience, I’ve heard good things about these cleaner tablets as they are specifically designed for washing machines and are recommended by many manufacturers.
In case of end of lease cleaning, it is even more important to make sure your washing machine is in top working condition and using a cleaner specifically designed for washing machines can help you achieve that. It can be a great way to leave your rental property in top condition for the next tenant and also leave a good impression on your landlord. But, make sure to always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for using any washing machine cleaner to avoid any damage to the machine.

[Author]

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